Beautiful Day
by Kestrel
Summary: Before Harry Potter caused the fall of the Dark Lord, the wizarding world was a scary place. Voldemort had no mercy, no fear of defeat. Andromeda Phifer knows Voldemort is bad, but what does that matter? Voldemort wouldn't kill children, and nothing bad c
1. Beautiful Day

Beautiful Day

Authors Note: This is my first posted fan-fiction. I wrote it on a whim, and I would like to know what you think. Any kind of review you can give is welcome; flames, comments, suggestions, even a simple 'I hated this,' or 'Please continue,' would be appreciated.

  


  


  


Andromeda Phifer was proud to say she was ten and a half years old. She loved her parents, her dog, and her many siblings. She loved her nickname, Annie, and did everything she could to make sure people called her that, instead of her horrid full name, Andromeda.

Annie was free to roam about all day in her family's many fields, great big woods, and, if she could get one of her older siblings to help her, she went swimming in the beautiful lake.

Not to mention the chances of seeing all kinds of magical creatures. The Phifer's lived on a large estate in Switzerland, and up in the mountains there were all kinds of things to see. As a bonus, Annie's parents and two eldest siblings, Jeff and Arnita were all obsessed with magical creatures. They loved anything with wings, particularly dragons, and anything that swam was loved by the family.

And quite a family it was. In addition to Annie and her parents Sophia and Thomas, there were her 8 siblings, Jeff, the oldest, Arnita, Jared, Gary, and William, Annie's older siblings, and Alexia, Maurice, and Pam, her younger sibs. Then there were her grandparents, Andrew, Jean, William, and Louise. Add the family dog, Snuffles, and that was 15 people and one dog. Annie was quite proud of having figured this number out, she had to use her toes to count all the people!

Annie had quite the family, but everything still managed to run smoothly. And today was no exception.

"Why, look at that, Snuffles! The apple trees are blooming! How lovely!" Annie said, hanging out her window. "We have to go look at them!"

"Go look at what?" demanded her brother William."I certainly don't see anything of importance."

"That's cause you're a bo-oy, and bo-oys don't know anything, William!" 

"Boys know plenty, Alexia! You can't even tie your shoes!"

"Humph."

Annie was too distracted by the beauty outside her window to notice her two closest sibs' arguing. The sky was a beautiful blue, with cirrus clouds drifting all over, looking like unicorn tails in the wind.

The door banged open, bringing Annie out of her reverie and causing William and Alexia to stop arguing for a minute.

"Breakfast is ready, you guys. Annie, get dressed." Jared told them.

Annie pulled herself back into the house and, making sure the door was closed, took off her nightgown, pulled some of her older robes on, and ran downstairs to eat breakfast.

Her father looked up from his paper. "Good morning, Annie," he said. "Are you planing an outdoor escapade today?"

"Thomas, that's a ridiculous question. Annie is always planning an escapade of some sort." That was Sophie, Annie's mother, whom Annie privately thought was the most beautiful and magical person in the world.

The truth was, however, that Sophia Phifer was almost a Squib. She had been disappointed and ashamed on the summer of her eleventh year when no Hogwarts letter came for her. She had locked herself in her room and cried for what seemed like forever. But then her mother and father, William and Louise, had come to her room and told her how very, very proud they were of her. "Sophia, even if you were a three-legged frog, we would still love you. You are our daughter." Louise had said that day. 

Sophia was an only child. All of her childhood had been spent in the enormous Phifer manor. Her parents had taught her what little magic she was capable of, and, when she met Thomas at a fancy dinner party, were supportive and loving to him as well. 

Thomas was a wizard, and a good one at that. He went to Hogwarts with secondhand school supplies and money troubles dogged his family every time his tuition was due. When he met Sophia, he didn't think he stood a chance with her, seeing as how she was from a rich family and he was not. However, somehow they got through it all and were married, the only condition being Sophia kept the last name Phifer, and that it was passed on to any children the two should have.

From the time Sophia announced that she was pregnant with their first child, she was always worried that her children would be Squibs like her. She didn't think she could bear seeing them with that pain.

Today, however, Sophia was not worried about magic, or anything else for that matter. She had other plans.

"Annie," she said, "Will you please take Alexia with you when you go outside today?"

Everyone at the table looked up. It was an unspoken rite of passage, that when a child was deemed responsible enough, he or she would be asked to take a younger sibling under his or her wing. And apparently Annie had just been deemed responsible.

Annie stared at her mother. "Yes, mother. I would be happy to take Alexia out with me."

Upon hearing this, Alexia cheered. "I'm going outside with An-nie, I'm going outside with An-nie! We can climb trees and roll in the grass and maybe even go swimming!"

"If you want to go swimming, you'll have to get some help, okay Annie?" her father said.

"Yes father." She answered, then started to inhale her breakfast. When she was done, she waited impatiently for Alexia to finish eating. When she finished, Annie grabbed her sister's hand and made a mad dash for the stairs.

"I'll have a lunch basket made for you!" Her mother called after them.

The girls burst into the room they shared with William, and Annie said, "Lexie, you going to have to take off your dress. You can't climb trees in a dress."

Alexia frowned, but did as she was told. She took off her dress and started struggling into a pair of jeans. Annie, who was braiding her hair, looked at her sister and said, "Swimsuit first."

Alexia plunged her hand into her dresser, dug out her favorite pink swimsuit, put it on, then managed to put the jeans on. Annie then pulled a shirt over her head, braided her sister's hair, and was about to open the door when William burst in.

"Mum said I could go with you, if that's all right." He said. 

Annie frowned. On the downside, he was her older brother, and if he came that meant she might not be in charge. On the upside, if they took him with them, then they could go swimming, and Annie wouldn't have to carry the lunch basket. "all right,Will, you can come. But you have to carry the food." 

They charged down the stairs to the kitchen, where Mary the house elf had their food waiting for them. "There's apples, cheese, crackers, turkey pasties, and blueberry muffins in there, Annie," she said, "And I put some iced butterbeer that should stay cold for about three hours."

"Butterbeer?" Alexia gaped. "Butterbeer?"

Mary chuckled. "Yes, child, butterbeer. Now close that mouth before you let the flies in."

Alexia snapped her mouth shut quickly.

"Annie, William, make sure you have your first aid bags. With all the dark trouble up north, you can never be too safe." 

Annie sighed. Every time she went out of the house, she had to take a bag that had safety gear such as first aid, flares, wolfsbane, and other nonsense in it. Granted, it fit in her pocket, but it was the principle of the thing. Sure, the dark lord was bad, but he never attacked people with small children, did he? And with Pam being only two, he must have some sense of mercy. Plus, bad things never happened on days this lovely. 

Annie put these thoughts out of her head as she skipped outside with her brother and sister. Today was perfect. There was nothing to worry about.

~

***

Sophia looked down at the letter in her hands. "Thomas," she squeaked. Her husband got down from the library ladder he was on and walked aver to his wife to see what had her so scared. He looked over her shoulder and went a milky white color. The letter read:

PHIFER,

You have something

we wanT.

We gave you a chance,

years ago, Sophia, to have

a husband, children, and

POWER.

You should have taken 

That Chance,

Sophia.

Now is to late.

Sophia looked at Thomas. "We have to activate the defense shield. It might be able to hold them off."

Thomas looked into her eyes. "Find the children."

~

***

"But mother, the invisibility charm should have kept us hidden. How did He find us?" Arnita asked futilely.

Sophia looked across the table at her. "I don't know how He found us, Arnita. But find us He did, and now we need to find a way to keep Him and his Death Eaters away from here."

The elders of the family were sitting at a large round table in the highest tower on the Phifer manor. The walls were covered in maps, and in the center of the table was a magical map of Europe and eastern Asia.

"I sent a letter to Dumbledore with our fastest owl. It should be arriving there any minute. Jeff, will you open a channel to Dumbledore's office, please?"

Sophia couldn't open a channel herself, so Jeff bent over the fireplace and opened a channel to Dumbledore's office. Almost instantly, Dumbledore's head appeared in the fire.

"Ms. Phifer," said Dumbledore, "I believe we have a problem."

"I believe you're right, Albus."

"As soon as I got your letter, I sent three of my best hit wizards out to assist you. But, as a wizard cannot Apparate into your grounds or out of mine, it may take quite some time for them to get there."

Sophia looked at him. "How long?"

Dumbledore returned her stare. "Three to four hours."

"How long until the Death Eaters get here?"

Dumbledore suddenly looked much older. He stared into Sophia's eyes. "Forty-five to sixty minutes."

Everyone around the table gasped. All except Sophia. She simply said, "I see."

"I'm sorry, Sophia. There just wasn't enough warning."

Sophia's gaze hardened. She said to Dumbledore, "If I don't come out of this, I will see you again, in a place where no shadows may fall."

"Sophia, you should try and get out of there."

"How? I cannot Apparate, and I have children that need protection. I can't simply leave them, can I?"

"No, you can't, nor did I think you would. May our best wishes be with you in the coming hours of gloom, Sophia." With that, Dumbledore's head disappeared.

Sophia turned to look at the rest of the table. She told them simply, "I will stay here to protect the children. We cannot escape in forty-five minutes, and even if we could, the children couldn't bear the hike through the mountains. Any of you who wish to leave may do so. Any who wish to fight, come with me." Sophia marched out of the room, and every person there followed her out.

~

***

  


Annie, Alexia, and William, blissfully unaware of the death warrant their mother was signing, were high up in a tree by the lake. Mary the house elf was far below, looking for them. "Children!" She called. Alexia giggled, earning her an elbow in the ribs from Annie. "Shut up," William whispered. "She probably wants us to clean our room."

Far below, Mary thought, _"I wonder where they went. Danger is fast approaching, and it isn't safe out here."_ She called for them again. "Annie? William! Alexia?" _"Where are they? I suppose I'll go check the lake."_

Fifteen minutes later, Annie, William and Alexia dropped out of the tree like ripe peaches. Giggling fiercely, Annie said, "Let's go spy on our family to see what work we're missing out on."

After tracking all the way back to the house, the three of them hid behind the spruce tree next to the front room's window. Peeking in, what they saw confused them.

The front door was being hexed shut by Jeff; Arnita was nowhere to be seen; Jared, Gary, Grandpa Andrew, and Grandma Jean were rushing all of the little kids down into the heavily enchanted tunnel that lead of the grounds to where there was a pre-set Portkey to Hogsmede.

Annie heard something shrieking in the air overhead. She looked up, and almost screamed, herself. Four wizards on broomsticks, covered entirely in black, were leading what looked to be a very large, very angry lizard with wings covered in brassy spikes.

William whispered, "A Hungarian Horntail." Annie didn't particularly care what it was, she wanted it to go away.

The people in black landed in the front yard, walked up to the door, blasted the whole front wall down, and went inside, as calmly as if they had done this every day of their life.

Then the killing started.

Beams of light flew everywhere, green, red, gold, every color imaginable flew through the air that day. Then the dragon, as if sensing the time for feeding was near, entered the house. The people in black, Death Eaters, got out of the way then, and by the time the dragon was finished, there was nothing left of Thomas, Jeff, or Arnita. Sophia was nowhere to be found.

One of the Death Eaters went down the tunnel, and the sound of screaming and pounding feet came from the opening. The rest of the Death Eaters started looking for something. Annie, realizing they might see her, started to panic, and then remembered something her father had once said. "Annie, you are a witch. This makes you special. If, at sometime in the future, I am not here to protect you, I want you to think as hard as you can about being invisible. This may sound silly, but promise me you'll do it." 

Suddenly determined, Annie thought, 'I'm invisible, I'm invisible.' As hard as she could. Then, remembering her siblings, she thought, 'We're invisible.'

One of the Death Eaters moved closer to the window, and as if sensing something, stared right at the three children under the tree. Seeing nothing, he went back to his work.

Suddenly, Sophia's voice ran out, "Leave this place now, or be destroyed."

The Death Eaters turned and saw Sophia standing defiantly before them. The tallest of them stepped forward and said, "Move aside, sniveling Squib. We have no reason to listen to you."

Sophia looked at him, then took a thin chain off her neck. "You have come for this," she said, holding up a small, glowing stone on a chain. "But this, Eaters, you cannot have." Sophia held the small stone close to her, whispered something, and everything went insane.

The dragon, now finished with it's disgusting task, disappeared, having no knowledge of the evil it had just done. It had only been hungry, and had eaten the food presented to it. Something entirely different happened to the Death Eaters, however. 

Seemingly frozen, they began to crack, to be laced with blue-white light. Then, without even time to scream, they exploded.

Sophia, a Squib, had done all that. But such magic carries a high cost. Without the magic in her needed to give the stone what it needed, Sophia had instead used her life-force. But such things cannot be reversed. Sophia, mother of nine, wife of Thomas Marling, was dead, gone to the place where no shadows may fall.

~

***

Annie, Alexia, and William were too shocked to enter the house for a long while. When they finally went inside, they were appalled. 

Blood splattered the walls, floor, and ceiling. The carpet was shredded into tiny pieces. In the middle of it all lay their mother. 

William ran outside again, and they heard him being sick in the bushes. Alexia, to shocked to take it all in, went up to her room to bury herself in her stuffed animals. Annie felt drawn to her mother. She walked up to where Sophia lay and knelt down next to her. She touched her mother's face gently. "Mum," she whispered. "Mum!" Annie shook her mother, as if to get her to wake up. "No." Annie started crying, very softly, and bent down to hug her mother. As she did this, something fell out of her mother's hand.

Annie looked up to see a small light. Getting up to look at it, she saw it was the stone Sophia had used to destroy the Death Eaters. Annie bent down to look at it, wondering what it was, and yet afraid to touch it. Slowly, carefully, she picked the stone up. 

Instantly, she felt the white-hot light flow through her. Somehow, though, it wasn't painful. The power of the stone sang through her veins. Annie put the small silver chain around her neck, felt the warmth flow through her. She felt odd, but she didn't mind. The stone made her feel older, somehow. Wiser. She liked it.

~

***

A full two hours later, the promised team of hit wizards arrived.

James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black got off their broomsticks and walked towards the house. Stopping twenty feet away from where the front door used to be, they looked at the house in horror.

Sirius gulped. "Think there's anybody left alive in there?" He asked.

Remus answered, "I hope so."

~

***

Annie looked up from the rubble of the front room. She saw the three men approaching the house, and got up to meet them.

She stared up at the one in the middle, who had glasses and black hair so messy it would have made her giggle if the situation hadn't been so serious. Annie met his eyes and said, "You're too late. Everyone is already dead."

Hearing those words, Sirius, Remus, and James all felt horribly guilty. True, they had gone as fast as they could, but this little girl had lost her family because they couldn't go faster. 

Remus bent down to eye level with Annie. "I'm so sorry. I wish we could have been faster."

Annie stared at him, perfectly still, then threw herself at him, positively bawling. "They killed them!" she cried. "They killed everybody!"

Remus picked her up, cradling her as she sobbed. He looked at Sirius and James, who just looked back.

Hearing Annie's screams, William came out of the bushes, pale as a ghost, and Alexia looked out the window at Annie, then grabbed something out of the room and raced down the stairs to her distressed sister. 

Sirius, seeing William walked up to him and said, "Hello. I'm Sirius."

William looked at the tall dark-haired man and replied, "I'm William."

Alexia charged out the front door to where her sister was. Tapping on Annie's arm before James could stop her, she got Annie's attention and gave Annie her prized stuffed dragon. 

The dragon was small, with silky golden wings and fuzzy blue fur. The stuffed animal had real glass eyes, enchanted to look at whoever was holding it. The toy had been given to Annie for her fifth birthday, when she had affectionately named it 'Puff the Magic Dragon'.

"Puff'll make you feel better Annie. He always does."

Annie sniffed, looking into Puff's glass eyes. She nodded quietly, then said to Remus, "You can put me down now."

Remus obliged, setting her down as though she were made of glass. Annie then looked at them, and said, in a small voice,"You need to look at the house now, right?"

Remus nodded and James said, "Do you think you could show us around?" 

Annie nodded then without waiting to see if they were following, walked into the front room and stopped next to her mother. Turning to face James, Remus, and Sirius, she told them, "This is my mother. She killed the bad men and made the dragon disappear." Remus, who was the only one not carrying a child at the moment, bent down to look at Sophia. 

"What happened to her?" he asked.

Annie looked at him blankly. "She died."

Remus saw the stupidity in his question, then stood up to look at the basement tunnel. 

"Where does this tunnel go, do you know?" Annie shook her head no.

William spoke up from behind Sirius. "It goes to a Portkey that goes to Hogsmede. The best chance for escaping the house in there."

Remus, James, and Sirius looked at each other, then Sirius asked William, "William, do you think you could show us where the Portkey is?"

In reply William walked over to his dead mother, kissed her on the cheek, then said, "Maybe Grandpa Andrew will be down there!" and trotted off down the stairs to the tunnel. Sirius, Remus, and Alexia followed him down. Annie looked at James pleadingly. 

"Please don't make me go down there, sir. I don't like the dark."

James nodded, then asked Annie, "How did your mother kill the Death Eaters and make the dragon disappear, do you know?"

Annie pulled the little stone off her neck and handed it to James. "She killed them with this."

James took the small stone and received the same white-hot feeling Annie had, only the stone wasn't friendly towards him.

"Damn!" he yelled, and dropped it. He held his hand up and saw a patch of skin glowing blue-white. When the light disappeared, the skin underneath had been charred to a black-gray color. _"What the hell is that thing,"_ he wondered, _"and how can she touch it?"_

"Are you all right, sir?" Annie asked, picking up the stone. "I don't see why it hurt you."

_"I was wondering just that,"_ James thought, when he heard a young girl scream down in the basement.

"Alexia!" Annie cried, jumping up to race down the stairs as fast as she could. She didn't make it even half way down, though, because she bumped into William, Alexia, Sirius, and Remus. 

"They're all dead, Annie!" Alexia sobbed. "All of them! Grandma and Grandpa and Jared and Gary, Maurice and little Pam! They're all dead!"

Annie held her sister up as Alexia sobbed in fury. She looked at William. "How could this happen, Will? It was such a beautiful day!" William just shook his head dumbly.

Sirius turned to James and said, "I think we should take them to Hogwarts, James." He looked down the tunnel. "By broom."

  


  


Disclaimers: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Voldemort, Death Eaters, and anything else from Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling. 'The little blue stone was inspired by Atlantis: The Lost Empire, from Disney, and 'a place where no shadows may fall' belongs to J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5.

Thank You,

Kestrel


	2. Shattered Dreams

Shattered Dreams

  


On the broom ride to Hogwarts, the sky had stayed beautiful and clear. As Annie, her siblings, and the hit wizards got closer to Hogwarts, the view was amazing. Annie would have enjoyed looking at the forest and the lake, but she was to shocked by the day's event to care. 

James, Sirius, and Remus landed their brooms as carefully as they could, so the young passengers wouldn't have to endure anymore shock that day. 

Annie carefully got off of the broom she had been sharing with Sirius. Looking around, she saw the front of Hogwarts, framed by the red rays of the setting sun. _"Red."_ she thought. _"The color of blood."_ She sniffed, then started to cry softly. Annie had been able to deal with the pain a good four hours after seeing her family shredded, but now the knowledge of what had happened started to sink in. It was terrible.

~

***

James looked around. _"Hogwarts."_ he thought. _"This is the only truly safe place. I hope these kids can stay here."_

He was very troubled by what had happened to the Phifer family. It was fairly well known that the manor was one of the best protected places in Europe. _"If Voldemort could get the Phifers, then what chance do Lily and I stand?"_

James thought of his house in Godric's Hollow, and of Lily. _"The Phifers had plenty of capable wizards at their home, along with hundreds of years of safety spells, plus whatever that blue stone was."_

The thought of the stone jolted James back into reality. _"Dumbledore said there was something strange protecting that house, and I'd bet my wand that little blue stone has something to do with it."_

"Remus, can you carry the brooms? I'll get Alexia; we need to get them somewhere where they can sleep." 

Sirius bent down to ask Annie if she wanted to be carried inside. Annie shook her head, no. The six weary people trudged into the front steps. The front doors opened, and they were greeted by a worried looking McGonagall. 

"Come inside." She said. "Dumbledore wants to see you."

"Do you think we could put the little ones to sleep first? They've had a long day." Remus asked, as they walked into Hogwarts' familiar front hall.

"Of course. Dumbledore said to turn both children over to Madame Pomfrey." McGonagall paused, seeing three children, not two.

"Yes, Minerva. Both children." Dumbledore said suddenly from behind them. He smiled down at Annie. "Miss Annie, do you think you could come with me?"

Annie nodded. Dumbledore turned to walk slowly up the stairs to his office. Annie thought it was strange when he stopped in front of a rather ugly gargoyle. "Bubble gum." He said to the statue. To Annie's amazement, the gargoyle jumped out of the way, reviling a door.

"Come with me, Annie." Dumbledore said, stepping on the moving spiral stairs. Annie looked at them doubtfully, then stepped on behind the strange man. 

~

***

Once inside Dumbledore's office, Annie sat down in one of the soft chairs that surrounded the large desk. She didn't notice any of the moving pictures, any of the whirling silver contraptions; indeed, all she noticed was how much this office reminded her of her father. 

Dumbledore bent down in front of Annie's chair. He cupped the child's face in his hands and looked into her eyes. He seemed to understand something in those eyes, something special.

"Annie. You have been incredibly strong for your siblings today, and you were very strong to show Sirius, Remus and James around your house after all that had happened. Now, I must ask one more thing of you. May I see the stone?"

  


Annie wasn't at all sure she should let anyone else touch the stone after what it had done to James. But she knew, somehow, that this man wouldn't be hurt. She slipped the chain over her head and handed Dumbledore the chain.

  


_So this is what has protected the Phifer family for so long, _Dumbledore thought. _It is a very powerful talisman, and it can only be wielded by the chosen few. Alas! That Sophia was a Squib! She could have done so much more if she had had enough magic to work the stone to it's full potential._

Dumbledore looked at Annie again. The child sat, curled up with her feet in the chair, all manners forgotten. She was staring at her knees, and her eyes were glassy. Yet she did not cry.

  


_I truly hate to put this responsibility on her shoulders, but the stone has chosen her. I must send her to someone who can teach her to use the magic that has been given to her. I fear I will have to further break apart this family to do this._

  


Dumbledore sighed quietly. 

  


"Annie," he said, and the girl looked up. "Here is your stone back. Now, I want you to promise me something." Annie nodded. "Promise me, that as long as you live, you will never let another person take that stone from you. Not even myself, understand?"

  


Of course, Annie didn't understand the whys and hows of this promise, but she understood how important it was that she do as Dumbledore asked. 

  


"Yes sir. I understand."

  


~

***

James stood in the hospital wing, watching the two sleeping children.

  


_ I wonder what Dumbledore wanted Annie for. Surely he knew what she'd been through, so it must have been extremely important, to keep her from her sleep._

  


James sighed, and looked at the two children who lay sleeping. Madame Pomfrey had given them each Dreamless Sleep potion, and they had fallen asleep instantly. As he looked at the children, his thoughts wandered back to his own home, where Lily and he were hiding from the world, just like the Phifers had been. 

  


_I hope Lily is all right. We must be crazy, to think we can hide from Voldemort. The Phifers couldn't do it, the Boneses couldn't do it, the Grangiers, the Yamputs, nobody has been able to hide from Him for long. What makes us think we can do it?_

  


"James?"

  


The tentative call came from Remus. Remus, who was one of James's best friends.

  


"James, you should go home. Lily must be getting worried. After all, you have been gone a lot recently." Remus was very sincere in his concern. 

  


"You're right. I should go home. Good-bye, Remus. Keep on living."

  


"And you, James. You keep on living for Lily, and all of us."

  


James walked out the door. He needed to get his broom and cloak, then he would be gone. After all, he couldn't stay in one place for long.

  


  


_ ~_

_ ***_

  


Dumbledore escorted Annie down to the hospital wing so she could sleep with what was left of her family. After tucking her into bed, Dumbledore sat until he was sure she was asleep. Then he went back to his office. He sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Delia!" he called to the house elf that usually watched over his rooms, "Would you please find McGonagall and ask her to meet me in my office as soon as possible?"

  


The house elf, as always eager to please, scurried off quickly. Dumbledore looked around his office and ran a hand through his beard. He then walked over to a wooden cabinet and opened the doors. Inside there was a large circle made out of the blackest material known to the wizarding world. He took this circle out of the cabinet and looked at it. 

"It is a rather amusing twist of fate, is it not, that the strongest opposition to Voldemort happens to come from a family with a strong background of Black Magic." Dumbledore said this to no one in particular, expecting no answer, but he got an answer anyways.

  


"Fate has an extremely humorous side as well as it's more well known sadistic side, Albus. You know that as well as I do."

  


A pale outline of a young woman appeared near Dumbledore's desk. One would have thought she was a ghost, were it not for the beautiful colors surrounding her. She had the look of the pale rainbow that shows up in the mist of a waterfall, and one got the feeling that she would dissolve into mist if she so chose. 

  


"Yes. I assume you know what has happened to Sophia. What do you have to tell me, Linan? You are the expert in this type of magic, not I."

  


Linan looked at him. Now that she had fully materialized, she seemed to glow with an inner light, and she seemed to be made up of every color of the rainbow, yet at the same time she was colorless. Muggles, and most wizards at that, would have thought they were dreaming if they saw her. Few could understand that such beauty could exist on earth, and yet conceal an amazing amount of power and age.

  


" I have nothing to tell you that you don't already know, Albus. Sophia was a Squib. She knew using the stone would kill her, but she also knew that some female member of her family had to be protected so that the stone would continue to have a carrier. I know the stone chose the child named Andromeda. The only thing I don't know is with whom you intend the children to live."

  


"As soon as Minerva gets here, I intend to contact William and Louise. I expect they will move back into the manor and raise the children as best they can. I only wish they had someone younger to help them. They were old when they raised Sophia, now, they are not much younger than myself. Raising children will be very hard on them."

  


Just then, there was a knock on the door. Dumbledore waved his hand, and the door opened by itself. McGonagall walked in, took in the scene, saw the black hoop on the desk, and said, "You are contacting William and Louise, then. Are you sure, Albus? I'm sure somebody would be glad to take them in."

  


At this Linan spoke again. "No. Voldemort is growing stronger. The Phifer manor is strong, stronger than anywhere besides here." 

  


McGonagall had gone white as a sheet a the mention of Voldemort. However, she said nothing about it, instead she said, "Then what do you propose we do? William and Louise are no longer young, and I don't think they could keep You-Know-Who away from the manor all by themselves."

  


"Minerva has a point, Linan," Dumbledore said. "There is no way William could hold up the shielding by himself, and Louise would need the stone to do anything. The stone is currently downstairs, with Annie, and that is where the stone will stay until Annie dies."

  


Linan gave them both a lopsided smile; then she waved her hand and dissolved into the air. When she reappeared, she was no longer as colorful as she had been, rather she was more blue than anything else, and her edges were more clear cut.

  


"My solution is, you give the children to William and Louise, they stay in the manor, and I hold up the shields, watch the children, and teach Andromeda how to use the stone the way it was meant to be used. Is this solution satisfactory?"

McGonagall and Dumbledore stared at Linan. As long as she had watched over Hogwarts, (nearly 700 years total), Linan had never shown any favoritism, and she had certainly never offered to teach. Finally, Dumbledore came back to his wits.

  


"Very well. I shall contact William and Louise." He turned towards the desk, but Linan beat him there. She held up the hoop and said, "That is unnecessary, Albus. They have contacted you." She held the hoop in the air and spun it counterclockwise. An image of an elderly couple appeared in the hoop. They were both crying.

  


The woman in the hoop spoke first. "My baby is gone, gone. What happened to her, Dumbledore? Are Thomas and the children all right? What happened to Sophia, my poor baby?"

  


Dumbledore looked grave. "Thomas is dead. They were attacked by Voldemort early this afternoon. There wasn't enough warning for us to get there in time. They are all dead, except for Annie, Alexia, and William."

  


At this, Louise broke into tears and disappeared from the image inside the hoop. William stayed, and looked straight at Dumbledore. "Sophia used the stone, and it killed her." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Where are the children, and which one did the stone chose?"

  


Linan answered this question. "The children are here. The stone has chosen Annie. With your permission, I would like to teach her how to use the power inside the stone the way it was meant to used."

  


William bowed his head. "I will meet you at the manor tomorrow at noon. Don't bring the children. I don't want them to see whatever is left over until we have a chance to clean it up. Then, we will stay in the manor with the children and raise them as best we can. Linan, will you assist me with the shielding?"

  


"Of course." Linan said. "Gladly."

  


William swallowed. "I will see you tomorrow, then." His image disappeared for the hoop. The hoop stopped spinning and fell to the ground. McGonagall bent to pick it up and put it on the desk. 

  


"That's that, then," she said. 

  


"Yes, that's that." Dumbledore's grave reply held no humor, even when speaking the amusing phrase. 

  


"Then why do I feel as though I've just signed a death warrant?"

  


~

***

  


  


Hogwarts, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, Sirius, Remus, James, Lily, Harry, Peter, Voldemort, house elves, and anything else you recognize all belong to J.K. Rowling. I would absolutely love it if you reviewed!


	3. Shadows and Ghosts

_Shadows and Ghosts _

  


  


  


A week and a half after the murder of her family, Annie was going home. Her Grandpa William would come to Hogwarts and take her to the Portkey in Hogsmeade. That would transfer her to her house's basement. She would be in her house again.

  


_'It will never be home again,'_ Annie thought. _'Home is gone forever. Home is where you feel safe. I will never be home.' _

  


Sad thoughts for a girl of ten-and-a-half. A girl that age should be thinking of adventures, unicorns, candy and cake. That's what childhood is. Knowing you're safe and knowing that no matter what happens, it will always get better. Annie had lost her adventures, her family, her dreams. Even though she was ten-and-a-half, she was no child.

  


She looked at the stone on her necklace.

  


_'Why me?'_

  


~

  


Deep in the Forbidden Forest, Linan was getting ready to leave home for the first time in 600 years. 

  


"I have been here a long time. I suppose it will do me some good to be somewhere else for a while."

  


She looked around her house. It was like her, based both in reality and in dreams. Built in a clearing in the woods, surrounded by the biggest, oldest trees in the forest. The house itself was made of wood, but that was only a skeleton. The rest of the house looked like it was made out of clouds of shimmering color. If you weren't prepared to look at Linan's house, you would stand there staring at it's hypnotizing swirls until you died.

  


Linan took only a few things with her; a box containing seeds of long forgotten plants, a pouch of various stones, metal and glass shards, for spells, and a white book with shifting pages, a diary of all the things Linan had seen in her long life. 

  


Linan walked over to a pedestal set in the floor. On this pedestal she set one white candle that was burning with a black flame. The air around the candle shimmered.

  


"I'd best be off, then." Linan said. She gestured, and then she and her belongings were gone.

  


The shimmering air around the candle expanded. Soon the entire clearing was shimmering. Then, just as suddenly as Linan had disappeared, the clearing was gone. 

  


Somewhere in the places between the worlds, a white candle burned with a black flame.

  


~

  


"Grandpa, I'm scared."

  


Little Alexia Phifer didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay in the Hogwarts hospital where the students would come and play with her. She wanted to watch the Hogwarts lake, walk in the halls, and eat the wonderful food. 

  


Alexia wanted to stay with the nurse who gave her the Dreamless Sleep potion. She didn't want to dream about her parents being killed. She didn't want to dream about dragons, or Death Eaters, or broomsticks. Alexia didn't think she'd ever be able to ride a broomstick again. Not after being lifted from her home on a broomstick, not after looking down at her home, which seemed so normal, so strong, and so lifeless.

  


Hogwarts was safe. The students told her it was the safest place she could be. It wasn't fair that she had to leave. She didn't see why she should leave. Annie and William wanted to risk their lives going home, but Alexia didn't.

  


William had told her:

  


"We have to go home, Alex. Don't you understand? If we don't go home, it will show them how weak we are. If we don't stop cowering now, we never will! Listen, I'll be coming back here for school soon enough. Annie will be a first year next year, and you only have four more years till you can come to Hogwarts. When we've learned all we can, we can go and take our revenge on You-Know-Who. That's what we have left. Revenge." Will had walked away muttering to himself.

  


Annie had something else to say.

  


"Alexia, where else can we go? We can't be a burden on these people forever. They need to worry about important things, not about children like us. That's their job. Our job is to go home, rebuild what was destroyed, then learn as much as we can about everything we can. If we just know enough, maybe we can keep things like this from happening again."

  


Alexia wanted to stay at Hogwarts. She didn't want revenge like her brother, and unlike her sister, Alexia wanted people to take care of her. She just wanted to be safe. Was that so much to ask?

  


~

  


In the Hogwarts hospital wing, Andromeda Phifer picked up her stuffed dragon. She looked around at all the walls, the hospital beds, everything. 

  


_"I'll be back,"_ she thought. _"I'll be back soon."_

_~_

  


The Portkey to the manor basement worked as well as it had for the past 400 years. No matter that the house would never be the same. No matter that the house was no longer a happy place. The gears of the house still turned, everything still continued the way it was supposed to. The only difference in the house itself was a new carpet on the floor in the front room, and a cleaner look to the stairs. 

  


Annie looked at all this, and the first thought in her mind was:

  


_'That carpet is ugly.'_

  


She sighed. The house was too quite. No laughter ringing through the halls, no Pam crying, no bustle in the kitchen. The house looked the same, but the life had been sucked out of it. 

  


Annie walked calmly up to her room, put her dragon on her bed, then sat down on the floor. 

  


_'What now? What do I do now?'_

  


She got up and paced around the room. She flung the window open. The flowers on the apple trees were falling like snow. The sky was a clear blue, and the weather was perfect. All and all, it was a beautiful day.

  


Annie slammed the window shut so hard some of the glass broke. 

  


"I HATE YOU!" she screamed to the sky. "I HATE THIS WEATHER! I HATE THIS HOUSE!"

  


"You shouldn't have slammed the window, child." Linan said from the door. 

  


Annie stared. "Who, no, what are you?" she asked.

  


"Good question. I like people who can ask good questions. I am Linan Tashoki. I am sort of like a ghost. Currently, I am protector of your house."

  


Annie looked at the ghost. With a voice cold enough to freeze blood, she said, "If you are protector of my house, where were you when my life was ruined?"

  


Linan looked at the child in front of her. "For one thing, Andromeda Phifer, I have only been protector of this house for a day. For another, your life is not ruined. Finally, you will not speak to me in that tone until you have earned the right to call yourself my equal. I am here to protect your house, but mainly I am here to teach you how to use that stone."

  


Annie's nostrils flared. She was mad. The Death Eaters who had killed most of her family were far away and from what she had heard, Linan could have protected her family from it's doom. Annie needed somebody to blame, and this Linan seemed like a good candidate.

  


"If you knew how to use the stone, you should have taught my mother how to use it. Maybe then she wouldn't have died."

  


Linan blinked. _'The child has a point,'_ she thought. _'Perhaps I should have done something about Sophia. It may be that I have been isolated too long.'_

  


"You're right, Annie. I shouldn't have let things go down the path they did. I am to late to save your mother, but I hope you'll let me help you."

  


Annie was shocked. She hadn't expected Linan to agree with her. Her anger was deflated like a balloon with a hole. All she had now was grief.

  


"Why did she have to die?" Annie wailed. The dam inside of her broke, and the tears poured down her face. "Why?"

  


Linan looked nervous. She hadn't been near a crying child in years. Her eyes shifted around, looking for a way out of the situation. Finding none, she built up her supply of magic until she felt semi-solid. She walked to Annie, bent down and embraced the child as best she could.

  


Annie yelped, then relaxed. The magic the ghost was made of felt like the magic in the stone around her neck. Annie wasn't sure, but she thought Linan and the stone were of similar origin.

  


Linan let go of Annie, letting some of the magic go so she was no longer solid, then said, "I don't know why, Annie. I don't know why Voldemort had to come into power, and I don't know why your mother had to die. All I can do is teach you how to use the power that fate gave you. Do you want me to do that?"

  


Annie looked into Linan's eyes. She remembered everything that had happened to her in the past week and a half, and she remembered something her father had once told her. He had said: "Sometimes bad things happen for no reason. Sometimes the world turns on you and leaves you feeling helpless and alone. When things like that happen, you have to take the situation and make the best of it. You have to look around and learn from the bad thing so they won't happen again."

  


Learn from it, he had said. Linan had asked if Annie wanted to be taught. She looked at the ghost.

  


"Yes."

  



	4. Preparations

Preparations  
"I don't care if she's a two headed dragon, Linan! Andromeda has to learn to control her magic! You can teach her how to use that stone, but she has to go to Hogwarts to learn witchcraft!"  
  
Minerva McGonagall couldn't believe Linan was suggesting Andromeda Phifer be kept out of Hogwarts. Andromeda had potential, and it was McGonagall's duty to make sure that potential was cultivated into something usefull.  
  
"You would be the first to admit that knowing more than one kind of approach to magic is useful, Linan!"   
  
"Yes, I would be the first to admit that, Minerva, but Andromeda can't be distracted now! She has to learn to keep the stone in check, or it's power will destroy her!"  
  
"Yet if she doesn't learn to control the magic inside her, that will destroy her surroundings!"  
  
Albus Dumbledore chose that moment to announce his presence.  
  
"You are both right. The stone must be kept in check, and Andromeda must come to Hogwarts. Linan, is there anything you can do to make controlling the stone easier for Andromeda?"  
  
Linan closed her eyes, thinking. "I could try to shield it so that the stone would only act if she told it to," she muttered.  
  
"Then do that!" McGonagall cried, exasperated.  
  
Linan sighed. "Shielding something as powerful as that stone takes a tremendous amount of energy, Minerva. I don't know if I can do it. Even if I can, I won't have the strength left afterwards to protect the house from attack."  
  
The three sat where they were, searching for other alternatives. The truth was there were no other options. Annie needed Hogwarts training. She could hurt somebody if her magic got out of control.  
  
Dumbledore hated himself for his thoughts. 'Annie will be here at Hogwarts. If Voldemort attacks, he won't get her. Linan is mainly at the manor to protect Annie.' Dumbledore swallowed. 'I could be signing the death warrants for William, Louise, and Alexia, but what else can I do? It's a risk that must be taken.' He sighed.  
  
"You know what we have to do. We have to leave the Phifer manor with virtually no protection, so Annie can safely come to school."  
McGonagall closed her eyes. "How long will you be out, Linan?" She asked.  
  
"I can't be sure. Three to seven days would be my guess."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. This was terrible. Then he had an idea.   
  
"Linan, you've been with Annie for a year now. Do you think she could hold the shielding if she had to?"  
  
Linan looked at him. 'Is he crazy?' She thought. 'Annie's only just eleven!' She looked down. 'She could. She has a good enough grasp of the power that she could hold crude sheds if she had to. Crude, but powerful.' Linan sighed.   
  
"Yes, Albus, I think she could hold crude shields. How long would it take for hit wizards to get to the manor if it were attacked?"  
  
"Three or four hours, Linan." Dumbledore said.  
  
Linan frowned. "Annie can't hold the shields that long. Send hit wizards there now, so if the manor is attacked we have some defense."  
  
McGonagall looked at Linan. "We need our hit wizards, Linan. We can't send them off to babysit."   
  
Dumbledore sighed and massaged his temples. "We have to, Minerva. That's the luck of the draw."  
  
McGonagall looked at the floor. "Who?"  
  
~  
  
Three hours later, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter were headed for the Phifer manor.  
  
"Just because we messed up once doesn't mean they should put us on babysitting duty!" Sirius complained to his friends. "It wasn't our fault the Muggles wouldn't listen to us. They should have just done what we told them to do!"  
  
James looked at his friend. "Shut up, Sirius. I for one am thankful to do something that isn't life threatening."  
  
Sirius humphed, the looped around his friends broomstick. Hanging upside down in front of James' face, Sirius said, "Married life is making you soft, man. Where's the daredevil inside?"  
  
James took his hands off his broom and grabbed Sirius by the ears. He made his broom fly in a corkscrew, then let go of his friends ears. Sirius went flying away from his friend, laughing his head off.   
  
"There's the daredevil! Ha ha, I knew he was in there somewhere!"  
  
Remus had been calmly flying along through all of this, staring into space. Preoccupied as he was, he didn't notice Sirius hurtling towards him.  
  
"Oomph!"  
  
Sirius slammed straight into Remus, nearly knocking him off his broom.   
  
"Watch it, will you?" Remus yelled. "The daredevil inside of me prefers the ground!"  
  
"Ah, Remus, you landlubber. No wonder you never made the Quidditch team."  
  
"In case you hadn't noticed, Sirius, I never tried for the Quidditch team. I like the ground under my feet, thank you!"  
  
James looked down. Below him he saw the beautiful Phifer estate. "Hey guys," he said. "We're there!"   
  
Sirius whistled. "Pretty place, isn't it? Didn't really notice, last time we were here."  
  
Remus glared at him. "Sirius, do try to be a little sensitive when we're on the ground. We're protecting all that's left over of the Phifer family, and I doubt they want to be reminded of what happened last time we were here."  
  
The wizards tilted their brooms downward to the ground. They descended fast, then landed neatly in the front lawn of the house.   
  
James looked at the house. It was a castle, really. Big, tall, built of stone. The place could easily house 200, not taking into account the magical rooms and corridors.   
  
Just then a voice said behind them, "Hello. I remember you."  
  
All three wizards started and turned around. A girl with red hair stood in front of them.  
  
James blinked, then said, "Annie, right?"  
  
The girl smiled. "You got it. You want to come inside, James Potter?"  
  
The three wizards smiled. James said, "Yes, we would like to come inside. Although it is a beautiful day for being outside."  
  
Annie instantly stopped smiling. "Follow me." She said gruffly.  
  
James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other confusedly. What had they said wrong?  
~  
  
"Thank you for coming. It is good to have the extra protection, in case something happens." Louise Phifer paled as she said this. 'I doubt three hit wizards could do much if the Dark Lord attacks us. He knows what hides in this house. If he attacks, we will fall.'  
  
Louise had been old when Sophia was born, and now she looked and felt ancient. She was a witch, and that gave her a longer life, but at 115 years old, she was old even for her order. Her short, flyaway hair was completely white, her voice was deep and raspy, and her eyes spoke of a long life. Only her skin didn't look old. Pale as porcelain, her skin was much smoother than would be expected.  
  
"We're glad to help, Ms. Phifer. We only hope we're not needed." That was Remus. He could see the age in the woman's eyes, feel her still present grief at the passing of her daughter.   
  
Louise looked at the younger man. "Remus, correct?" Remus nodded. "I hope you're not needed, too. Voldemort knows what hides in this house. If you are needed, I hope you will be enough."  
  
James knew that the house held thousands of books, artifacts, potions, remedies, and other priceless things. He also knew that Voldemort could most of find those things in places less heavily guarded. What was here that people would die just to get?  
  
'I bet this has something to do with that stone. I wonder what that thi-'  
  
"Exactly what does this house hide, if you don't mind my asking?" Sirius asked.  
  
James sighed. 'You don't beat around the bush, do you Sirius? Go right in for the kill. How tactful of you.'  
  
A new voice came from a doorway next to the group.  
  
"This house hides something far older than you, Sirius Black. It hides a key to the old magic, a link to the lines of magic flowing around, over, under, and through you. There was a time when that magic could be used without a key, but no one alive remembers that time. If Voldemort got a hold of the key, then he would be able to tap into pure magic. He wouldn't need a wand, or spells, or any of the things recognized as magical now." Linan had been listening to the conversation, and she had answered Sirius' question.   
  
"Is that little stone Annie showed me the key?" James asked.  
  
Linan looked at him. "That is the key's physical form, yes. It's actually a lot more complicated. You see, the key doesn't just give access to the old magic. When someone with the key is in trouble, the key will twist the magic into the form it thinks it's keeper will need the most. That way, you don't have to know what you're doing to use the magic. The key does most of it for you. All the keeper of the key has to do is channel the magic through his or herself into the key. After that, it's easy."  
  
The three hit wizards thought about that information for a minute. Finally Remus asked, "If it's that simple, why did Sophia Phifer die?"   
  
Louise gasped. The question had been asked. He wanted to know why her baby had died.   
  
"Sophia was a Squib." Louise choked . "You have to be trained to handle the flow of magic through your body. I didn't know how to teach her without magic. She used her life energy to fling the magic into the stone, and the magic that flowed through her veins destroyed her."  
  
James, Remus, and Sirius didn't know what to say. So that was why Sophia had died. In her desperation, she had done the only thing possible to keep the stone from the Dark Lord. Her bravery had killed her.  
  
James thought about that. 'How could she be so brave? I don't know if I could do that.' He paused for a minute, thinking about Lily and his newborn son, Harry. Then he realized something. 'I could. For Lily and Harry, I could die. For Lily and Harry, I would die.' He shook his head. 'It won't come to that, James. Sirius will be our Secret Keeper, and everything will be fine. Just another month, and everything will be fine. Lily, Harry and I will be safe.' Then James remembered something.   
  
"Wait a minute. Annie handed the stone to me when I was here last. It burned my hand. I still have a scar," he said, holding out his hand. "You said the stone chooses it's keepers. It already chosen Annie, hasn't it? I though it only chose from the Phifer bloodline."  
  
"The stone would only choose from the Phifer bloodline if it had it's way. However, if Voldemort captured Annie, He could trick the stone into believing He was a Phifer, then he could kill Annie and take the stone from her. The stone would have no choice but to accept the Dark Lord." Linan spoke grimly.  
  
Sirius furrowed his brows. "How could he trick the stone into believing he was a Phifer?"  
  
Linan looked at him. "He would have to have Phifer blood in him."  
  
Sirius' frown deepened, then suddenly he went paled and gagged. "Where's your bathroom?" He asked Louise. Louise pointed down the hall, and Sirius took off at a run, trying not to be sick.  
  
Linan looked at Remus and James. "If Voldemort were to drink some of Annie's blood, the stone would be convinced He was a Phifer long enough to bind itself to Him. By the time her blood was out of His system, He would have control over the stone."  
  
The two men paled. Suddenly, this babysitting didn't seem so unimportant.  
~  
  
Linan left the group in the hall and walked to Annie's room. She could have just materialized in the room, but Linan wanted to save her energy for what was ahead.  
  
"Hello, Annie. You don't look at all happy. What's wrong?"  
  
Annie turned away from the window. She had been staring out at the mid-July sky, which was a beautiful blue color with little wisps of cloud floating through it. She looked at her teacher. "I hate this weather," she said.   
  
Linan looked out the window. By anyone's standards it was a beautiful day. Even the stuffiest of stuffy old men would say that the weather was wonderful. She turned her attention to the child in front of her.  
  
"You can't blame what happened to your family on the weather, dear one. Bad things happen in the sunlight, in the moonlight, and when it's raining. You should enjoy this weather while it lasts, because soon enough it will be rainy and cold. Not that you shouldn't enjoy rainy, cold weather," Linan said, trying to conceal a shudder. It was all for the point she was trying to make. "The point is, enjoy what's given to you. There will be things in your life worth hating, so don't waste your energy complaining about the weather."  
  
Annie smiled at her teacher. Deepening her voice to sound like Linan's, she said, "Uhg! I hate this, cold, wet, cold, and WET weather. I hate it, I tell you! It's depressing! I can't even feel the wet part, but I STILL HATE IT!"  
  
Linan sniffed. She held her head up, stuck her chin out, and said, "Well! Umm... You have a point. Ahh.."  
  
Annie burst out laughing. It was pleasant to see her teacher speechless for once.  
  
Linan sighed. She hadn't come up here to joke with her student. She had a job to do.   
  
"Annie, may I see the stone?"  
  
Annie blinked. She had promised Dumbledore she wouldn't let other people touch the stone, but Linan couldn't touch it, could she? 'She is my teacher...' Annie thought. She took the necklace holding the stone off her neck and held it up so Linan could see it. Linan hadn't gone solid since the day she and Annie had met.  
  
Linan looked at the stone. It was still glowing blue after a year. If it had been deactivated, it would be a deep, dull black. 'Damn.' Linan thought. 'The stone responds to Annie's inner magic, and it won't deactivate. She has to deactivate it herself, and she doesn't know enough yet to be able to.' Linan sighed.  
  
"Annie, you know you're going to Hogwarts this fall, don't you?"  
  
Annie nodded. Of course she knew she was going to Hogwarts.  
  
Linan looked at the stone, then looked at Annie again.   
  
"Annie, if you get scared or angry, you know the stone will react to that, don't you?"  
  
Once again, Annie nodded. She could sense something important was going to happen, but she wasn't sure what.  
  
"You also know that if the stone does something, it could hurt somebody. You aren't strong enough yet to control the stone yourself. You know that, right?"  
  
Annie blinked. "Yes Linan, I know that. What are you saying? That I can't go to school? That I can't go to Hogwarts?" She choked. Annie wanted to go with her brother to Hogwarts. It meant everything to her.  
  
"No Annie. That's not what I'm saying. I have an idea, and it might keep the stone in check. My idea is this: I can put a shield around the stone, and I can teach you how to open the shield and close the shield if you need to. That way, you can use the stone if use need to, but it won't respond to your every fear. How does that sound?"  
  
Annie stared at Linan. "Linan, I'm eleven years old. You don't have to sugar coat questions as though I were three. Yes, that sounds good."  
  
Linan jerked. 'That's right, she is eleven. She is far to mature for eleven. Damn Voldemort, stealing this girl's childhood.'   
  
"You're right, Annie. You are eleven. Eleven and a half, to be precise. You will be an old first year, but that gives you an advantage. So you like my plan?"  
  
Annie frowned. 'Linan changes subjects too fast.'   
  
"Yes, I like your plan. What do I have to do?"  
  
"I will make a shield around the stone that will open and close if your voice tells it to. All you have to do is decide what word you want to open the shield and what word you want to close it."  
  
"Sounds easy enough. Er.. "  
  
"Make them words you don't use very often. You can't have the shield opening and closing all the time. I might advise names from mythology. Let's see, you won't be studying ancient Egypt at Hogwarts until your fourth year. Why not choose names of mythological beings?"  
  
"Do you do things like this often, Linan? You seem to have a lot of ideas for passwords."  
  
"Yes, actually, I do a lot of things that need passwords. Now look in your mythology book over there and pick two names."  
  
Annie went to get her mythology book from her bookshelf. Arnita had brought her this book from Egypt for her eighth birthday. It had all an eleven year old could ever want to know about Egyptian mythology. Annie flipped to the section about the gods Egyptians worshipped.  
  
"Lets see, something appropriate for this use. None of the obvious ones, that leaves you out, Isis. Bastet? No, not for protecting. Hathor? Ah.. No."  
  
Linan sighed. "Please don't take all day. I would like to do this before you die of old age."  
  
Annie looked up. "What will this do to you, Linan? I assume the hit wizards are here to protect us. Isn't that your job?"  
  
"Yes, that is my job. Shielding something as powerful as the stone will take a lot of energy. After all, it takes a lot of energy to hold a lot of energy. I will be exhausted after this, and in no condition to protect your family. That is why the hit wizards are here."  
  
"That's nice." Annie was paging through her book, not paying much attention to Linan. "Eureka! Meretseger can be the opener. Listen, 'Meretseger was the silent guardian of royal tombs. She would curse wrongdoers, yet she was merciful to those with honest hearts.' That seems appropriate, don't you think, Linan?"  
  
Linan groaned. It was going to take the child all day to decide. "That sounds great. It's certainly not the kind of word you use everyday. Now pick a closing word."  
  
"Okay. Ahh... Ummm.. Ah! Here we go. Amun. 'Amun was invisible to mortals, concealed from them,' it goes on. Seems like a decent guardian word for the stone."  
  
"All right! Give me the stone, and I'll get to work." Linan said, before Annie could change her mind.  
  
"Maybe it should be something else, though...."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Quite. Now let's get this over with. The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can recover."  
  
Annie handed Linan the stone. Linan put her hands on either side of it and let the stone and it's chain hover in front of her. She closed her eyes. The air around her began to hum, very softly. The humming started to get louder. Linan's normally blue hue began to warp to include other colors. The first new color was purple, then green, yellow, orange, and red. White light came from within the ghost, and she seemed almost black around the edges. The humming in the air was really loud now, and suddenly Annie realized she could hear music in the humming. All kinds of music, music that was played on strings, music from flutes, singing, drums, classical, jazz, oriental, it all blended together to form the most beautiful song Annie had ever heard. The air around Linan started to bend, forming a globe around the stone. The colors that where in Linan poured into the globe. Annie watched in fascination as Linan slowly lost all of her color, pouring it into the stone. She realized the music was somehow bending itself around the stone as well. Linan was creating a shield of color and music. The ghost was concentrating all her being on the shield. Suddenly, she spoke.  
  
"Meretseger."  
  
The globe around the stone pulsed outwards.   
  
"Amun."  
  
The globe pulsed again, then contracted in on itself. The globe was truly beautiful now, shining with light, colors swirling all over it's surface. The music was loud and almost frenzied, the tempo having increased threefold.  
  
Linan bowed her head and dropped her hands. The music stopped, the color disappeared, and the stone dropped to the ground. The necklace chain was gone. All that was left of it was a bead of melted metal on the top of the stone.   
  
"You can pick the stone up now," Linan said. Her voice was dull and lifeless, with none of it's usual punch. She had faded so that her outline was fuzzy, and she was a sort of pale grey-blue color.   
  
Annie looked at the stone uncertainly. Whatever Linan had done, it had caused enough heat to melt the silver necklace chain. She wasn't sure she should pick up the stone. It might burn her, too.  
  
"It won't burn you child. Pick it up."  
  
Annie did as she was told. When she touched the stone, she saw a flash of color and heard a burst of music, and then the world was normal. She had a question.   
  
"What kind of magic was that? I've never seen shields done that way before."  
  
Linan wasn't sure she had the energy to explain. "That's how shields were made in my time, Annie. Before mages started using wands, they had to recreate their spells every time they cast them. Then they got the idea to imprint the structure of the spells into wands, so the mage didn't have to know the spell he or she was casting. Those were very unstable times, and it made life easier for those who had too much to worry about already."  
  
Annie was confused. "If it's that simple, why does it take so long for witches and wizards to get through school?"  
  
Linan, faded though she was, smiled at this. "There's still some skill involved in magic, Annie. Mages have to learn how to cope with the flow of magic through their bodies. The wands make it easier, but the more complicated spells require the wizard or witch to piece together the parts. There's still some talent and art left in magic. The good mage are and always were artists. They could take the raw magic of the earth and spin it into something that would work for them."  
  
Annie frowned again. "Linan, if magic comes from the earth, and there are lots of wizards and such, wouldn't the earth run out of magic eventually?"  
  
"No, Annie. You see, when you cast a spell, that magic is not gone forever. It has simply taken another form. Eventually, the spell will decay and the magic will return to the earth."  
  
"Is that why spells have to be renewed occasionally?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How did I get magic, then, if these mages locked it away?"  
  
Linan smiled. "The group of mages in question was very big, Annie. Four or five thousand, at least. They had leaders, people who where in charge. Most of these mages had children, Annie. Sometimes the ability to hold the Earth's magic was passed on to those children. Those children had children, their children had children, and so on. The ability to store magic was brought down from generation to generation. That's why witches and wizards exists."  
  
Annie was still frowning. "That was bad of those mages. Magic should have stayed accessible to everybody. No wonder the Muggles hate us. We stole magic from them."  
  
"Very observant for an eleven year old. That's why the Muggles hated you originally. It's been so long, though, that they can't remember having magic. They don't remember why they hate you. Alas, most witches and wizards don't believe that any other way of handling magic ever existed. They think theirs is the only way, and they call anybody who says otherwise crazy."  
  
Annie had more questions. "Can magic still be worked the old way?"  
  
"Yes, Annie, you just saw me do it. The only reason I can do it is because I remember how. You could do it. That's what that stone is for. Someone created a key so people could access magic without wands or without being great mages. That key took the physical form of your stone. Later on, somebody decided it would be good idea to give the stone intelligence of it's own, so that once activated it would do whatever it thought it's keeper wanted it to do. Bad idea, if you ask me, but oh well."  
  
"Linan, you said you're old enough to remember. How old are you?"  
  
Linan smiled again. "The creation of wands was thousands of years ago. I was born before wands were created."  
  
Annie gaped. "Wow! Wait, how old exactly?"  
  
Linan laughed. "I don't remember how old I am, Annie. I lost count around 1300, and that was during the dark ages."  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
"Indeed." Linan said dryly.  
  
Annie paused, thinking.  
  
"Linan, can you teach me how to use the Earth magic for myself, without the stone's help?"  
  
Linan blinked. She had sworn never to teach again. Not after what had become of her last student. Yet here was this girl who had lost almost everything in her life, asking Linan to give her knowledge. How could she refuse?  
  
Linan needed to think.   
  
"There's a book down in your library. It's in the section labeled 'The Ancients.' Linan said. "It's a black leather book.. It's titled 'The Time Before'. Read it. When you're done, tell me, and maybe I'll have enough energy to teach you then. Now, I'm going to rest."  
  
With that, Linan disappeared.  
  
~ 


End file.
